Temporary protector for lasted shoe-uppers.



C. T. COLE. TEMPORARY PROTECTOR FOR LASTED SHOE UPPERS.

APPLICATION FlLED AUG.1I,1915. 1,169,463. Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

THE couuuxm I'LANOGRAPH co, WASHINGTON. n. c.

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UNTTED STATEg "PATENT @FFTQE.

CHARLES TRAFTON COLE. 0F BR-OCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO GEO. E. KEITH COMPANY, OF BROGKTON, MASEACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

TEMPORARY PROTECTOR FOR LASTED SHOE-UPPERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

Application filed August 17, 1915. Serial No. 45,905.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES TRAFTON COLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Temporary Protectors for Lasted Shoe-Uppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for preventing parts of shoe uppers, and particularly the ankle portions or tops of high-cut button or laced shoes, from being soiled or stained while the shoes is undergoing the usual factory operations following the lasting operation. The material and color of such tops are frequently such that the appearance of the top is liable to be seriously impaired by contact with the workmens hands and in other ways before the shoe is finished and ready to be inclosed in a box or carton.

fly invention has for its object to provide a simple and relatively inexpensive protector adapted to be temporarily secured to a lasted upper by the fastening means usually employed to hold the upper closed on the last, such means being the usual buttons of a button shoe, or the temporary fasteners employed with a laced shoe and engaging 1 the lacing holes for the purpose of closing the front opening.

The invention is embodied in a flexible jacket of relatively cheap and strong material such as cotton cloth or duck, formed I to cover the top, and, if desired, the vamp and quarters or parts thereof, and provided with one or more holes arranged, in a button shoe upper protector, to coincide with and engage one or more of the usual shoe buttons when the upper is held closed on the last by its buttons and button holes, the acket being buttoned to the upper. In a laced shoe upper protector, at least two holes are provided, arranged at opposite sides of the median line of the front of the protector and coinciding with a corresponding num ber of lacing holes arranged as usual in the edges of the front opening of the upper top, said holes being adapted to engage any of the various kinds of fasteners usually employed to connect said edges to hold the upper closed while on the last.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side v ew of a button shoe upper protector embodying my invention; Fig. 2 represents a side view of the same engaged with a lasted button-shoe upper; Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of a laced-shoe upper protector embodying the invention.

The same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all the views.

In the drawings, 12 represents a cloth jacket formed to cover parts of the vamp a and quarters b and the whole of the ankle portion or top 0 of a high-cut shoe upper. Said jacket is preferably made by connecting two similarly shaped pieces of cotton cloth or other suitable material by a front line of stitches 13 and a rear line of stitches 14, the upper and lower ends of the jacket being left open. lVhen the jacket is to be used to protect the upper of a button shoe, its lower front portion is provided, at one side of its median line, with a button hole or holes 15, three holes being preferred, as shown by Fig. 1, although the number may obviously be greater or less. Each hole is formed and arranged to receive one of the usual shoe buttons cl, after the button fly of the shoe has been engaged with the buttons, to hold the upper closed on a last preparatory to the usual factory operations which follow the lasting of the upper. The jacket is, therefore, adapted to be coupled to the upper by one or more of the buttons of the upper. The portion of the jacket con taining the button hole or holes is preferably provided with a reinforcing piece 12 stitched to the jacket so that the button holes are formed in two layers of material.

Fig. 3 shows a jacket adapted to be secured to the upper of a laced shoe, the construction of the jacket being similar to that above-described, with the following exoeptions: First, the lower forward portion of the jacket is divided along its median line to form an opening 17 extending from the lower end partly to' the upper end of the jacket, the upper end being tubular. ondly, the jacket is provided with holes 15 located at opposite sides of the opening 17.

There may be one or more holes 15 at each side of the opening. Preferably, each side of the opening has a plurality of holes, these being formed and arranged to coincide with the usual eyeleted lacing holes in the top of a laced or balmoral shoe top, so that the usual fibrous or metallic devices employed for temporarily engaging said Seclacing holes and holding theupper closed while on the last, may also engage the jacket hcles 15 and couple the jacket to the upper. The portions of the jacket which have the holes 15 are preferably provided with reinforcing pieces 12.

In each embodiment of the invention, the jacket is prepared for secure engagement with the upper simply by cutting one or more holes 15 or two or more holes 15 in the jacket, the edge of said hole or holes being preferably reinforced by button hole stitches. Said h les constitute coupling members which are complemental to the usual upper-closing devices, the latter, therefore,performing two functions. I .prefer to provide more holes 15 and 15 than are likely to be actually used at any one time, the hole or holes at one end of the series being operative in some shoes and not in others. This arrangement enables the same jacket to protect shoes of different sizes.

I claim:

1. A temporary protector composed of a flexible jacket having a tubular portion shaped to conform to and cover the top parts of a lasted shoe upper, and having means at its lower portion whereby it may be coupled to upper closing means employed to hold the upper closed on the last, said lower portion being shaped to cover other parts of the upper.

2. A temporary protector composed of a flexible jacket having a tubular portion shaped to conform to and cover the top parts of a lasted shoe upper, and having a hole or holes in its lower portion formed and arranged to receive one or more of the usual devices employed to hold the upper closed upon the last, said lower portion portion formed and arranged toreceive one or more of the usual buttons of a button shoe, said lower portion being shaped to cover other parts of the upper. v

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

C. TRAF'ION COLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I). C.

being shaped to cover other partsof the 

